Kubatana.net ~ an online community of Zimbabwean activists

Democracy. What democracy?

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Fellow blogger Dewa Mavhinga has discussed Zimbabwe’s unfair electoral environment in his latest postings. Unfair is possibly the wrong word – let’s rather call it completely flawed. Kubatana will be running an SMS Election Information Service during Zimbabwe’s March 2008 election in an effort to keep citizens both informed and inspired. I’ve just been told that both The Herald and The Sunday Mail newspapers have rejected Kubatana’s classified advertisement publicising this service to Zimbabweans. This is just one example of how Zimbabweans access to information is being curtailed.

If this makes you feel agitated and outraged than please email the editors of these two Mugabe mouth pieces and criticise their behaviour. You can reach The Herald at theherald@zimpapers.co.zw and The Sunday Mail at sundaymail@zimpapers.co.zw and to make sure that we record their abuse of power please send a copy to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on: press [at] zlhr [dot] org [dot] zw

Further evidence of the completely flawed electoral process is illustrated in this recent ZLHR communication which I received today.

The administration of elections in Zimbabwe continues to be a monumental joke and the whole process is buried under a mountain of red tape. After we ran an advert in the local press for persons who have been denied access to registration or inspection of voters roll we have been inundated with distress calls from persons who want to inspect/register but denied the right to do so. For most prospective voters, trying to access the voters roll is an adventure whose success is not guaranteed. Even nominees in the forthcoming elections have been denied access and ZLHR have approached the courts for relief. Such developments in our view testify against the conscience of democracy and rule of law.

One comment to “Democracy. What democracy?”

  1. Comment by Global Voices Online » Zimbabwe: Is Dr. Simba Makoni a puppet?:

    [...] Kubatana blog argues that the electoral process in Zimbabwe is completely flawed: Fellow blogger Dewa Mavhinga has discussed Zimbabwe’s unfair electoral environment in his latest postings. Unfair is possibly the wrong word – let’s rather call it completely flawed. [...]